


Vulnerability Is For Other People

by Nina931



Series: Theater of Despair [3]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Relationships, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-12 05:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19125949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nina931/pseuds/Nina931
Summary: Kaede isn't fond of Kokichi...but he's still a person stuck here and she can't just let him keep pretending he's okay.





	Vulnerability Is For Other People

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Pneumonia prompt for the Bad Things Happen Bingo.

Kokichi's skin burns under her fingers. The heat is so different from Kaede's own freezing skin she nearly lets go of his wrist, but when he goes to run again she holds firm. 

A frown finds its way onto Kaede's face as she notices that even though he's practically on fire she can still feel shivers running through him. She doesn't need to have shuichi's talent to see that somethings definitely wrong here.

"Nooooo! Don't murder me Kaedeeee!!" 

With fake tears welling up in his eyes, he attempts to pull away from her, aiming a kick at her shin. She flinches, moving her leg out of the way just in time to avoid it. 

Feeling incredibly annoyed, first at his accusation and then the kick, she pulls him closer with a sharp tug. He loses his footing and stumbles as she hisses at him."I'm not going to murder you! please stop yelling that, it's annoying and dangerous! I know you pride yourself on being a liar but don't you know the boy who cried wo--" 

She gets cut off as Kokichi, who had been looking at her as though she was about as interesting as paint drying, begins to cough. They wrack his small frame and she can hear the wet, choking sound of them even as he curls into himself as well as he can with her grip on his arm. 

She lets go of him, moving her other hand around to rub circles into his back as the coughing continues. All her annoyance disappears, replaced by sharp concern as Kokichi attempts to catch his breath. It's...He's definitely sick, and it has to be pretty bad too. No way would Kokichi let someone see him so vulnerable if it wasn't. It could be a lie she supposes, but with the way he's leaning on her and the glazed over look in his eyes, she doubts it. 

She isn't fond of Kokichi. She hates the way he messes around when they're all in such danger like this, making light of the whole situation and spreading distrust every chance he gets but...but he's still a person stuck here and she can't just let him keep pretending he's okay and getting even sicker. First of all, it wouldn't do to let him go around spreading germs and getting them all sick and secondly, it _absolutely_ wouldn't do if he died from being too stubborn to get help. 

She sees now that this is what Monokuma wanted when he turned off all the lights and heating, made it so sweeping rains started and they couldn't move between the dorms and the school without getting soaked. If anyone got sick from that, they would be so vulnerable. She looks down at Kokichi's small, shivering form. They would be easy pickings.

She's focusing so hard on worrying she doesn't notice Kokichi's body tensing up, the coughing stopping completely. He rips himself out of her arms, and she's too shocked to stop him. She thinks he'll run, pretend this is just an extension of their previous game but he stops once he's out of reach of her arms. 

As pale and sickly as she's now noticing he is, the look he's giving her is intense. He's...blank and it's so so different from his usual childish antics. 

It feels dangerous. 

Especially with the way he smiles at her in the next second, leering and cold. His voice is hoarse when he finally speaks.

"Aw Kaede...I didn't think a goody two shoes like you would be the sort to take advantage of people when they're weak. I guess you never really know people right? Especially when they're the kinda pervs that tries to catch a feel off a sick person."

"Wha-!" Surprise doesn't even cover the pure whiplash she's feeling in this moment. 

Kaede once again finds her sympathy and concern quickly drying up when faced with a Kokichi that isn't muffled by the suffering from his illness.

"It makes me think, if you're the kind of person that would take the opportunity to feel someone up when they're...in a moment of weakness...what else would you do? Isn't that interesting, little miss leader?"

"Kokichi..." As false and awful as his accusations are, and they make her blood boil to hear, she knows he's just being cautious. She had thought it just moments before hadn't she? How vulnerable he is in this moment. She can't blame him for his wariness (although he doesn't have to be so crude about it.)

She pulls herself up to her full height, which although she isn't tall she still towers over Kokichi, juts out her chin and prepares for a fight.

"Kokichi, I'm not going to kill you and also i wasn't..." It's so hard not to get frustrated. “I wasn't trying to "catch a feel"! I was just trying to, to help! You were coughing so badly...I was just worried." 

"Really…"

He's still smiling but it's become something more reserved now. Although his gaze is still as piercing and it's with stubborn pride she doesn't squirm and meets his gaze squarely.

Her next words are a risk and she's praying he won't try to resist, or at least try to run and make a fuss. 

"You're...really sick Kokichi. I don't think either of us needs to pretend that you aren't. And I know you weren't planning on telling anyone and were just going to keep it to yourself but-"

"And im still going to keep it to myself Kaede! And you will too! As one of my _very_ trustworthy friends i would think you would know better than to go around telling people, right?"

He's coming closer as he speaks, quiet and sinister, that intense cold smile on his face once again. It's ruined somewhat by the visible sweat and faint trembling in his outstretched hand. She doesn't back down even as he gets up right in her personal space. 

"I'm not. I wouldn't do that, even to you." He looks up surprised, but he quickly starts to look smug and satisfied once again. Kaede doesn't think he'll be wearing that expression by the end of this conversation though. "Although, you're definitely mistaken if you think I’m just going to let you walk around getting everyone sick and making yourself worse."

He really shouldn't have let himself get so close.

Kokichi doesn't even manage a single step back before she's manhandled him into a bridal position in her arms, only getting almost kicked in the head twice and a particularly nasty smack once. Unfortunately for him though, he's sick and she's actually pretty strong. (All those hours of having to clean out the music rooms at her old school were finally useful for something.)

He stops trying to bite her head off when she's finally got him up in the air, and after she reminds him that if he struggles too much she'll probably drop him straight on his head.

He's giving her the most foul look possible, most likely plotting the best way to get her murdered without repercussions, but Kaede doesn't particularly care what Kokichi Ouma is thinking at the moment. His opinion was revoked the moment he became the most likely candidate to become the first victim of this stupid killing game.

And if Kaede gets her way, no one will ever be the victim of this killing game except the mastermind themselves. She'll make sure of it.


End file.
